Chapter 4: James Crest
Clear liquid sprayed the alley as the man fell to the ground. A trail of dark red blood funneled from the body until it withered.
The blood drained into a sphere and floated in the air in front of Lesha. I stepped forward to inspect the blood ball and kicked the dry husk out of the way before coming close to the blob.
It was hard to describe, there was nothing like it in this world. The blood didn't stay in a perfect sphere, instead, it undulated and seemed to rotate in the air.
The smell was of blood, but it was not sweet and succulent. No, it was the irony kind that I would have normally thought typical of blood. It was nothing like the cherry sweet nectar I had silk over my tongue.
'Absorb the blood, pull it into your body. While stored, you can use it as a catalyst for your blood Services you will gain.' -Drania.
I focused on the moving sphere, and at first, there was nothing. Then, I felt the power floating in front of me, begging to be taken in.
I closed my eyes and concentrated on the blood and the power it possessed. Then I felt it press into my chest.
When I opened my eyes, the blood was gone. I looked over and Lesha's eyes were huge. She had a look of concern, not scared, and that was strange.
"Are you human? I mean are you one of them? The gods?" Lesha asked, coming closer, not backing away.
"I was a human about two hours ago, now… I don't really know. There is no good answer, but this is not the place to talk. If you would please come with me, my father's house is a short walk from here," I said, taking her by the hand to lead her.
"Your father? You are not married?" Lesha asked as we started to walk, holding on to my hand.
"Are you?" I shot back, turning to scowl as we walked.
Lesha turned her head and started to examine the poorly built houses. She was concentrating on the with rapt attention as we walked without saying anything.
Good start Kiada, she asks you a question, then you react like you're talking to an idiot man. I signed, but we were at my dad's shack, it was no exception from the rest of the houses crammed together.
There were nicer parts to the city, but this wasn't one of them. I had to lift the door to open it, but I hardly gave it effort, and I had to stop Lesha from opening the door for me.
I really hoped she wasn't going to act weird around my father. That was all I needed, I didn't want to deal with him going on.
"Ooo, who is this strapping young lady? Kiada is this your new...just kidding! Don't hurt me, oh violent daughter of mine!" My father said the second we walked into the house.
I could feel my face heat up and I glared at my father. The tall, heavy-built man was wearing a shop apron that still had metal shaving on it.
The apron and shavings were from his job at the smith's sharpening weapons. The man should be running the smith, not taking orders from the imbecile Gastbo, my father's boss and supposed Mastersmith.
My father's name was James, and he had dark black hair and a five o'clock shadow that he shaved off every morning at work with a fresh blade. He was one of the few good ones.
"This is Lesha, and she will be staying for supper," I said without giving many options in my tone, but my father just gave me an insufferable grin.
"Oh? Sure, I will have stew with bread ready in twenty. Leina stopped by and said to say hi, she brought the bread, they had some extra at the bakery," my father said as he stirred the pot.
Leina was the woman my dad was seeing. It wasn't that I didn't like her, but she was very prim.
I was not and she never forced me to try on dresses or anything like that. Though, she would always insinuate about me wearing something other than thick stockings and chain mail.
What was wrong with these things?
I waved Dad off and dragged Lesha by the hand up the stairs. I heard my father's little girlish titters, and I stormed the rest of the way.
I practically dragged Lesha up, but it was only two flights of stairs. So, she was able to stumble along. I finally let go of her hand and pointed at the open door.
Lesha went in without asking any questions or making a sound. Now that I think about it, she hadn't said anything since I had snapped at her about not being married.
Had I offended her?
'No, she is not allowed to speak to others unless you allow it.' Drania.
"Lesha, you can speak whenever you want, you do not need my permission," I said without hesitation.
"Thank you, I was wondering why I couldn't talk, but it was probably for the best," Lesha put a hand up to her face to cover a smile that was spreading.
'You can always put it back whenever you want, just saying.' -Drania.
"I don't want to know," I closed the door to my room and motioned for Lesha to sit on my bed since there was not a lot else to use as a chair.
"This is a cute place, and your father seems like a nice man," Lesha commented.
"Oh yes, he is too nice and that's the problem. My father is the best man I know, he is hardly appreciated for the work he does. That isn't saying a lot since the rest are idiots or my brothers, which are worse."
"You have brothers? Where are they all? What do you mean by worse?" Lesha asked curiously.
Great, of course, she was interested in my brothers. She was a beautiful girl, so I shouldn't be surprised.
I felt weird around this person, something stronger than the blood connection we shared. I wanted to get mad, but that wasn't the answer. I didn't know what I wanted, so not being civil was not being helpful.
"Yes, four of them, and they all have their place now, and they adventure together as a group," I said, trying not to sigh.
"They live together?" Lesha asked with a bit of surprise.
"Eat, breathe, and shit together. they have always been close, and I have always been the youngest sister that had to be weaker than them...sorry, I get worked up about them," I said turning my head.
Both of us sat quietly for a while longer, but Lesha broke the silence.
"What are we now? And how did you become like this?" She asked, looking up into my eyes.
What are we? I didn't know how to answer that question. I didn't know what I was.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone